Investment markets go through a cycle.  It doesn't matter whether the investment in question is stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, fine wine or baseball cards.  The price of anything moves up and down  -- with a bias to higher prices over the long-term (due to the forces of inflation).  

There are a few, basic investor profiles.  Read through the following descriptions and see which one comes closest to describing YOU!

1. The Buy-and-Hold Investor

The "Buy-and-Hold" investor makes a purchase and then holds on for the long term -- perhaps riding through a number of up and down cycles over the years. 

Over a long period of time, this might be compared to walking up a staircase, while playing with a yo-yo -- the markets gyrate but will move somewhat higher in the long-run (due in large part to inflation).  Time is on your side if you have patience.

2. The Momentum Player

The Momentum Player is involved in a game of musical chairs.  They identify an up-trend and jump on board.  If they get in early enough, there will still be time to re-sell for a quick profit.  Get in late, however, and you could be left without a chair. 

This is consistent with the real estate market we witnessed a few, short years ago.  It produced significant profits for some, but tears for many.  I find it especially interesting that the housing bubble developed so soon after the internet bubble in the stock market.  Since we all got to see the outcome of that disaster, you would think people would have learned.  Evidentally not. 

3. Buy Low - Sell High

The investment mantra 'buy low - sell high' has been heard so often, that it is now a cliche.  Yet although everyone is familiar with the adage, so few people seem to be able to take the advice.

You see, investors tend to be influenced by crowds.  They want to buy when everyone else is buying and they want to sell when everyone else is selling.  Unfortunately, this makes for a very crowded trade. 

Others, like myself, prefer to be contrarians.  We prefer to buy when everyone else is selling and to sell when everyone else is buying.  Think for a moment how this applies to the current real estate market.

Right now, we have an abundant amount of inventory.  Forclosures, bank-owned properties, Homeowners who must sell due to a job relocation -- the list goes on and on.  Buyers have the luxury to cherry-pick the very best properties and to negotiate deals with very favorable terms.

Doesn't it make sense to accumulate investment property NOW and to then sell it during the next strong market -- when the crowd once again has an appetite for real estate? 

What if you had accumulated investment real estate during the 90s and then sold those properties during the 2003 - 2006 boom time?  Wouldn't that have been preferable to trying to play a game of musical chairs during the bubble? 

How I Can Help

Right now, I receive a daily inventory of foreclosures and bank owned properties.  I am helping investors to accumulate property now, during the downturn, so that they can benefit fully from the next upturn in the market. 

I am also taking my own advice.  My wife and I are accumulating investment real estate that can help provide us with a cash-flow during our retirement years.

Did You Know That it is Possible to Purchase Real Estate in Your IRA?  Ask Me How!